


I Can See Clearly Now The Rain Is Gone

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Based Off A One-Shot, M/M, deaf!Castiel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-01-19
Packaged: 2018-05-14 20:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5758279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas has been deaf all his life. He left with his brother Gabriel as soon as he was able, he couldn't stand the murmurs that weren't hidden, like they were intended to be seen by his watching eyes. </p><p>Castiel always loved books. The words didn't have to be interpreted or slower or in sign language. They just sat there, easily comprehendible and ready, begging, to be read.</p><p>Dean lived in Lawrence, Kansas, and practically lived in the bookstore. Unfortunately, his brother Sam had gotten sick, and Dean had to stay home with him. Like, coughing up a lung sick. He catered to his little brother and dreamed of the day he'd be able to return to his little haven.</p><p>Neither anticipated meeting each other. Neither anticipated falling in love. And Cas never anticipated wanting to be able to hear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ready For Change, No I Don't Want Your Money

**Author's Note:**

> This work is dedicated to [KaitlynSpeight], the author of the one-shot this is based off of, [Sing For Me?].

"So he really can't hear?" Balthazar whispered to Anna. Her annoying boyfriend who had a, "Lovely British Accent", actual quote from Anna, really didn't get that Cas could /see his damn lips moving/. Cas felt his anger boil up and glared at Balthazar with all his, hopefully intimidating, rage.

"Don't be mean, Bal." Gabriel chided, stabbing his fettuccini with his fork.

"I'm not being mean, I'm asking a question." Balthazar said, lifting his fork to his mouth and eating a bite of noodles. Gabriel cooked the noodles and was a really good cook, in Cas's opinion.

"You were being mean. Cassie doesn't like it when people ask about his condition when they act like they think they know /everything about it/." Gabriel hissed, putting stress on the last few words.

"I /am/ a specialist." Balthazar huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"And I can read lips." Cas remarked. Balthazar looked him dead in the eye, for a minute looking like a deer caught in headlights, before falling back on his old taunt.

"Your voice sounds funny." Balthazar snorted, and Cas could literally see something in Gabriel snap.

"Out." Gabriel raged quietly. When Gabriel was quiet, shit was about to hit the fan. Cas could see the fire in his eyes, see his lips move robotically, knew he was using his voice quietly.

"This is /my/ house, Gabriel, my boyfriend can stay here if he wants." Anna said sternly, "If you don't like him, you can leave."

"Then I will." Gabriel said, packing his and Cas's bags. Cas didn't /say/ he was going to leave, but he sure as hell wasn't going to argue against it. 

"C'mon, Cassie, let's go." Gabriel said, slowly and patiently. Cas was still learning how to read lips, even if he was nineteen. Gabe was sixteen, barely old enough to drive. Cas picked himself up and grabbed his bags. He thought about the option of a cochlear implant for the thirtieth time that week. His parents had brought the subject up when Castiel was just old enough to understand it completely, about two years ago. He had never actually given any thought to it before then, and when they came to him with the prospect, he turned them down. He thought about it more and more after his parents had died. Luckily, Lucifer, his oldest brother, had been twenty at the time, and had taken custody of all of them. He had left after he was 'discovered'. He was a famous singer. Anna, eighteen, ran their household, which had gotten so small Gabriel almost couldn't stand it. Well, looks like he had snapped.

The two drove and drove and drove away from that desolate Montana town, settling for a place in the Midwest, Lawrence, Kansas.

.o0o.

Dean worked his butt off. He was an engineer, a mechanic, to be exact. He worked with his father-figure, Bobby, to help create more efficient, environmentally safe cars.

Makes a little sense he'd find release in books, right? Right?

He loved the little worlds, where problems were solved in a matter of pages. He loved the little bows-tied ending-significant books with their accuracies and misses alike. His favorite series had to be Harry Potter, a joy of a book he shared with his best friend/little sister, Charlie. Charlie wasn't /actually/ his sister, of course, but rather was his closest friend and felt like family. So Dean practically lived at the bookstore Charlie ran. Until Sammy got sick.

Sammy was Dean's little brother, sixteen, was sitting on the couch beside Dean when something weird happened. He started coughing so hard he spit blood into his hand. That was Dean's cue to drive him to the hospital. As it turned out, Sam had a form of pneumonia, except like the opposite. At least, that's what Dean gathered. Sam's lungs had zero fluid in them and therefore not flexible enough to draw in a whole breath and quite brittle. It was sort of like asthma, sort of like pneumonia. Thankfully, it was a genetic condition, so Dean only had to sit through a simple blood examination to see if he carried the disease as well. Sam would get better with medication, hopefully, and Dean was very hopeful.

And that's why Dean stopped going to the bookstore.

Sam was in the hospital for three years before the doctors deemed him fit to go. With a roll of his eyes and shaky steps, Sam and Dean left the hospital together with a bottle of pills. Dean had taken to spending every moment of free time he had with his brother, who sometimes wasn't even breathing on his own. Sam was pale and somehow managed to keep up with his studies while in the hospital. He hadn't been able to attend his own graduation.

All Dean's treacherous mind could think about was his bookstore, and how glad he'd be to finally go back.

.o0o.

Cas's love of books only grew when he reached Kansas and saw the humongous bookstore on the edge of town, next to a bar, The Roadhouse. He noticed it was open 24 hours and almost died right there with a stupid grin plastered on his face. Gabriel knew the look on his face.

"Yeah, you can go in." Gabe sighed, opening the door for his older brother. Although Cas didn't appreciate Gabe treating him like he was younger all the time, he didn't mind it as much as his face always showed.

"Hello, can I help you?" a lady with pretty blond hair and a bright smile asked. Cas didn't respond, not hearing her of course, and she got a little confused. She tapped Cas on the shoulder and he jumped.

"Sorry!" she squeaked.

"It's fine." Cas assured. Her eyes narrowed at his voice.

"I'm deaf." Cas said bluntly, like he said everything. He couldn't apply subtleties to his voice, not without it becoming way too quiet or much too loud, according to Gabe.

"Oh. Would you like my help in finding anything?" she asked, moving her lips slower and more obviously.

"No thank you, I'm new. I'll just show myself around." Cas smiled, walking over to the 'Fiction' section. He was gonna love it here.

"You find anything you like?" Gabe asked, plopping down in a bean-bag chair next to Cas, who was in a recliner. Whoever designed this store was a genius. One side dedicated to just the books, the back was well-lit and had a shitton of lamps that customers could turn on and off, and a mishmash of chairs, ranging from little plastic children's chairs surrounding a little plastic children's table, to the bean-bag chair Gabriel occupied, to recliners, to rocking chairs, to one lawn chair that looked well-used, but not recently. There were blankets and end tables and pillows and a place to buy and make hot drinks, 'Just Don't Spill Them On The Books!' a sign read, and none of it matched. It felt homey and perfect and even Gabriel, who hated books, could barely keep from falling asleep there.

Cas didn't make a move to respond, deep in the third installment of 'The Hunger Games'. The book always made him cry, but he loved it nonetheless. Gabriel sighed and poked Cas's side. Cas jumped slightly and glared at his brother.

"Wanna check out?" Gabe said, gesturing to the counter. Cas shook his head but stood up, placing the book back on the shelf and walking out with Gabriel.

Cas walked out with Gabriel and they went to their new apartment, or rather Luci's new apartment, no doubt they'd find a gaggle of girls who thought Lucifer Novak /actually/ lived there, instead of his slightly less handsome and poorer brothers.

"Well, welcome to the new place, please no fangirls please no fangirls please no fangirls." Gabriel whispered as he pulled up to the house.

"OMG IT'S LUCIFER NOVAK." dammit. Cas saw the five-ish (seven) girls surround his car with signs saying, 'We Love You', and the like.

"Nope." Gabriel said, cringing, as he stepped out of the car. The girls looked confused.

"C'mon, Cassie." Gabriel said, pulling his brother forcibly out of the car.

"But-" one of the girls started to protest.

"I know, I'm way too fabulous to just be his brother." Gabriel said sarcastically, flipping his hair. The girls looked a little heart-broken.

"But-" another girl said.

"But the lease I looked up illegally on the internet said otherwise! Oh, woe is me that the ever famous /Lucifer Novak/ has siblings he cares enough about to buy them a house with his excess money!" Gabriel said dramatically, making Cas giggle. It slowly dawned upon the girls and they slinked away, looks of disappointment etched on their faces.

"Now that the monsters have left, let's see our new apartment!" Gabe said cheerily, leading Cas to their condo.

"Here's your key, /don't/ lose it. There are still people who think this is Luci's condo." Gabe chuckled darkly. Cas nodded and said, "Don't you have school in three weeks?"

"Urgh." Gabe nodded, rubbing his face with his hands. Sometimes he hated Cas's common sense.

.o0o.

Three years later, Cas had managed to get a low-level job at the bookstore, and gotten to be pretty good friends with the manager, Charlie.

"Okay, so you're going to shelve the books," Charlie started, "Wipe down the tables, restock the warm drinks, sanitize the chairs, especially the lawn chair. I'm expecting someone. Oh, and alert me if any cute girls come in, so I can flirt with them." Cas nodded, mockingly bowing and saying, "All hail the good queen Charlie of Moondoor!" Charlie made a little wave and looked far in to the distance stoically. Cas left, still giggling, and went to wipe down and restock everything in the store. He made sure to treat the lawn chair extra specially, Charlie always said to do so. Cas did it because Charlie put up with his (probably, he didn't know) ridiculous voice.

It never did have an occupant.

So you can imagine his surprise when he comes back from the break room, after putting all the cleaning supplies away, to find the lawn chair occupied by not one, but two men, one of whom was rather pale and frail looking, and the other the most beautiful thing Cas had ever seen. His golden hair and green eyes dazzled in the lights of the room. Cas was glad Charlie didn't enforce or institute a dress code, only made them wear nametags. Cas was intrigued but kept his distance, the taller of the two looked like he was having breathing issues.

"Heya Cassie!" Gabriel said.

"How many times do I have to tell you I hate that nickname?" Cas said, rolling his eyes. 

"I'm never /not/ going to call you that name." Gabriel said, equally sassy.

"Did you see the hottie on the lawn chair?" Gabriel asked. Cas nodded eagerly.

"I'm gonna go chat 'im up." Gabriel smirked, heading off to the poor boys. Cas was rather surprised when he started talking to the pale, thin one, but didn't pay much attention to it. Instead, he turned his attention to the latest Stephen King novel, letting the surprises make chills run down his spine.

"Hey!" someone greeted Cas, who didn't hear, as usual.

"Hey, mister!" the person waved his hand in front of Cas's face, thinking he was only paying attention to the book.

"What?" Cas asked sharply, turning his attention to the man.

"What're you reading?" of course he'd ask that.

Instead of talking, Cas held his book up and showed Dean the title.

"What's it about?" Dean asked, getting on Cas's nerves.

"Why don't you read it yourself and find out?!" Cas snapped.

"Sorry." Dean apologized, "My name's Dean, by the way, and your voice is adorable."

Cas felt his eyes tear up and got out his communication book, which he rarely used, but still had. He grabbed his ballpoint pen from a pocket in his trench coat and wrote, 'I'm deaf, please don't tease me.', mind immediately flying to everyone who teased him. Balthazar, Anna, Michael, his father, every mean kid at school.

"I'm sorry." Dean said again, "My name's Dean, by the way." he sighed, "Wanna get a coffee, on me, I'm sorry?" Dean asked.

"Fine." Cas huffed.

"Thank you!" Dean said, hugging Cas, "My brother just got out of the hospital, I didn't mean to be rude."

Well, now Cas felt bad. When they passed Gabriel, he gave Cas a not-so-discreet thumbs-up and a huge smile.

"Sammy needs a friend who's not me, and he seems, I dunno, not-serial-killer-y?" Dean laughed, explaining.

'My brother, Gabriel.' Cas said, pointing to the golden-haired man.

"Oh. I thought, from the way he talked about you-" Dean said awkwardly.

'We're not dating.' Cas laughed.

"Well, me and Sammy are brothers too, so I'm not dating either." Dean chuckled back. That came out of nowhere.

'Oh.' was all Cas could write.

"I do like your voice." Dean said softly, waiting for the coffee to brew. Cas was confused and tilted his head in a way Dean found adorable.

'Oh.' was all Cas could write. Not often was he speechless, but Dean had done it. He'd driven Cas to speechlessness.

"Tell me more about your brother." Dean prompted.

'Well-' Cas's writing was cut off when Dean lifted his face so Cas would pay attention.

"No, I want to hear your voice." Dean said honestly. Cas was even more confused. Not only was this guy explicitly asking for him to talk, but genuinely seemed to like his voice.

"Gabe's nineteen," Cas started, "He and I live together in an apartment. I'm twenty three." 

"Me too." Dean said, "Go on."

"He's a great cook, he has a soft spot for candy, he stress-bakes when he has a final, and he'll eat all your food." Cas snorted, "He never abandons his friends or family. He tolerates my voice."

"He sounds awesome." Dean said, "Let's talk over the coffee, which is done, by the way."

Cas couldn't agree more.


	2. I'm Falling For Him Like Sherlock Off A Building (Too Soon?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas and Dean get together, fluff ensues. Sam and Gabriel become friends and Sam gets on the road to recovery! Yay!

Dean asked Cas if he'd like to go out on a date the fourth day Cas had caught him at the bookstore. Through sign language. Which he hadn't known a week ago. Cas was so in love. Cas was about to say no, though, when Charlie smacked his arm. 

"Nobody gets in the way of my OTP. You haven't shut up about him all week." she said stiffly, "Dean, you and Castiel are going out to The Roadhouse and you will have a wonderful time and drink milkshakes."

"Fine!" Cas said, quite honestly both scared of Charlie and relieved that he didn't have to turn Dean down because of his social anxiety.

"Good, now, Cas, your shift is over." Charlie said dismissively, waiting for Cas to say his goodbye.

"All hail the magical Queen Charlie Of Moondor." Cas deadpanned, rolling his eyes. Dean giggled. He /giggled/. Cas couldn't believe he giggled. He was perfect. Why did he want to date the deaf boy with the lame black hair and weird blue eyes?

"Let's go, Cas." Dean said, making sure Cas was looking. Cas felt an unfamiliar feeling in the pit of his stomach. He realized he had a terrible crush on Dean, and for the love of God /he was blushing/.

"You're cute when you blush." Dean said when Cas looked back at him. Dean led Cas to the Impala, and Cas left a note on Gabriel's car, saying, 'Don't wait up. Date with cute guy.'

"You think I'm cute?" Dean giggled again.

"As a puppy." Cas said. He hadn't ever wanted to know what something sounded like. True, he'd been curious, but honestly he'd never had the real desire to hear something out loud, a constant, burning desire.

Now he did.

He wanted to hear Dean.

"C'mon, sleepy-pants!" Dean said, referring to the day Cas hadn't had enough sleep, he was finishing a good book, and fell asleep on two of the bean-bag chairs.

"I'm coming! Wait up!" Cas yelled, or at least he hoped he yelled, he couldn't really control the volume of his voice, not enough practice.

Dean drove them to a decently clean building called, 'The Roadhouse'. It had a nice bar and some booths to sit at. A girl plopped menus in front of them, commenting on how they made a cute couple, and getting confused when only Dean's cheeks burned red.

"Hello, boys, what'll it be? Usual for you Dean?" a lady with blond hair and a pencil tucked behind her ear asked.

"Yep." Dean smiled.

"How long's it been since you've brought a date in here?" the lady mused before turning to Cas.

"Three years, Ellen, too long. This is Cas, he's deaf." Dean said. Ellen took another sheet and ripped it out, writing on it 'What do you want?' at the top and Cas said, in what he hoped was a quiet voice, "Burger. Plain. Vanilla milkshake."

"That's all?" Ellen asked. Dean and Cas nodded, Cas had paid attention to her lips this time. She left and Dean and Cas made polite conversation until Ellen brought their food. Dean ate his burger in slow, huge bites and made moans of satisfaction that Cas was sure were borderline porn-worthy. Cas took a bite to discover that it was the best thing he'd ever eaten. Ever. Even topping Gabe's shrimp fettuccini. Cas was sure Gabe would be more than happy to work here, he'd have to bring him. He was at Dean's, apparently playing video games with Sam. Thankfully, Gabe had experience with dealing with disabled or disadvantaged people.

"Hey Cas, wanna come back to my house?" Dean asked when Ellen came to take their milkshakes away. Cas's eyes widened and he looked at Dean, slightly terrified.

"Don't worry," Dean laughed, "I don't want to have sex with you on the first date." this caused several girls and one or two guys in the nearby vicinity to look rather taken aback.

"You moved on too, Lisa!" Dean yelled, offended, "You practically forgot about me!" Cas, thank god, took it lightly and giggled. Dean loved it when Cas smiled, he lit up the room. 

"So, what do you say?" Dean said with a wink.

"Fine." Cas said, "But we have to cuddle." the girls giggled and the guys made retching noises.

"Oh, shut up!" Dean snapped. He led Cas out to the Impala after paying and Cas got in the front seat. Dean got behind the wheel and drove back to their house, which was actually a bunker from the forties.

"It's not an actual house, in case you haven't noticed." Dean laughed, "But the inside's more homey than the outside."

Cas was led into the house/bunker to a well-furnished room that was unexplainably lit.

"Does this place have a generator?" Cas asked.

"Nope." Dean said, "We found it like this." 

Cas thought it was awesome.

He flopped down next to Gabriel on the couch. Sam was sitting in the chair next to Gabriel, mask on his face to help moisturize his lungs, which was weird and a little creepy. 

"Oh FUCK NO!" Gabriel shouted as Sam passed him with a cheeky grin plastered on his face behind his mask.

"Sorry, shoulda warned you, he's kickass at Mario Kart." Dean said, sitting down next to Sam and checking his breath thingy.

"No fuckin' kidding, Dean-o, he's won every game we've played so far." Gabe said, giving up as Sam won. Again.

"How many have you played?" Cas asked. Sam's attention snapped to Cas.

"He's deaf." Dean explained. Sam couldn't speak very well with his mask on, so he nodded.

"Twenty-seven." Gabe groaned.

"Holy shit, you must either really like him or really hate him." Cas said.

"I'm gonna go with like." Gabe said. Sam's eyes widened a little bit. Nobody made any more comments and they spent the rest of the night in companionable silence, eventually retiring to their own rooms, there were like fifty-seven bedrooms in the bunker, each stocked with blankets and pillows. Cas's head barely hit the pillow before he passed out.

.o0o.

He woke up to warmth that surrounded his body. Dean. Cas shifted around to see the man and Dean raised an eyebrow at him.

'You did say cuddle.' Dean protested. 

'Wasn't complaining.' Cas responded, snuggling in closer and feeling Dean's skin pressed against his own. Dean felt content to just sit there with Cas, but a certain moose, whose mask was only needed once a day, ran in and jumped on the bed.

"Wake up wake up wake up!" Sam shouted. Dean and Cas glared at the offending puppy-moose.

"Gabe made pancakes." Sam said, making sure Cas could see him. It had only been a week since Sam had gotten back from the hospital, but he already seemed healthier, tanner and with more fat and muscles. Cas shot up and Dean followed more slowly.

"Let's see just how good of a cook this 'Gabriel' is." Dean said, good-naturedly, of course. He and Cas sat down at the table and Gabriel appeared from the kitchen, carrying a mountain of pancakes and some syrup he made himself.

"How the fuck did you make syrup?" Dean asked. Cas chided him, 'Don't ask stupid questions' leaving Dean stumped.

"How-?" Sam asked, but Gabriel shushed him.

"Family secret." he said.

"Liar, only you can do that." Cas said out loud. There wasn't enough time to sign that.

"Yeah? Well, you can accurately predict the outcome of books and movies within the first few pages." Gabriel said. Dean and Sam stared.

'It's a gift.' Cas signed, shrugging. Cas remembered something he wanted to do for a while, but was only sure he wanted to after he met Dean. He picked up his phone and started typing, picking absently at Gabriel's pancakes.

Meanwhile, Dean and Sam were taking their first bite of Gabriel's food. Dean put the pancake in his mouth and made an obscene groan. Sam made one of a slightly higher pitch that drew a smile from Gabriel.

"Sammy you are going to marry this man." Dean said.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind that." Sam sighed, causing both Dean and Gabe to spit out their pancakes.

"Well, I am actually more okay than I'd like to be with Gabe taking you out on a date, Sammy." Dean said with a small laugh. Cas was still on his phone, completely oblivious and picking absently at his pancakes.

"Well then, you wanna go to The Roadhouse sometime?" Sam asked nervously.

"'Course!" Gabe beamed.

"Well then, that settles it." Dean said, clapping his hands, "Sam and Gabe are going to The Roadhouse and Cas and I are going to the bookstore."

"What? Now?" Sam asked, "Let me grab my inhaler first." Sam sighed, going to his room to grab his inhaler.

"He's nervous. Break his heart I'll break your face." Dean said sweetly. 

"Same to you, Winchester." Gabriel said, glancing at Cas. Dean moved Cas from his phone with a soft kiss on the cheek.

'We're going to the bookstore, Angel.' Dean signed.

'On a Saturday?' Cas signed back with a raised eyebrow.

'Charlie and I are friends' Dean shrugged. Cas nodded and they went to the bookstore and Dean picked up a book that looked pretty funny.

'Look, Cas!' Dean signed, book under his armpit. He removed it to show Cas a book entitled, 'All My Friends Are Dead.'

"Yeah, that book's hilarious." Charlie said enthusiastically. Cas was on his phone again.

"Angel." Dean purred, sitting down across from Cas and placing a sweet kiss on his cheek. Cas blushed but continued to scroll on his phone.

"So I take it the date went well?" Charlie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Perfect." Dean said, admiring Cas's jawline, which was absolutely perfect if you asked Dean. 

"What's he doing on his phone?" Charlie asked. Dean shrugged, "Whenever I try to take it he /growls/ at me. Not kidding." Dean snorted.

"Okay, I have got to see this." Charlie said. Dean reached over to Cas and attempted to see what was on his phone. Cas indeed did growl at Dean and Charlie almost fell off of her stool.

"Wow." Charlie managed, laughing so hard her face was red.

"Shut up." Dean huffed, glaring at Charlie and crossing his arms like a child.

"I'm sorry, handmaiden," Charlie started, but Cas grabbed his jacket.

"I have to go." he said in his distinctive voice. It sounded, like everything else about Cas, perfect to Dean. Like a song. It was deep and melodious and- Dean was interrupted by the sound of a door swinging.

"Where'd he go off to?" Dean wondered. Charlie shrugged and they returned to their books.

.o0o.

Cas woke up from his surgery a few hours later. It was really, really quiet and he almost panicked but a doctor by the door, name of Samandriel, signed, 'You still can't hear, you'll have to wait a month until we can place the external components.'

'Thank you.' Cas signed back. He stood up and smiled kindly, grabbing his jacket on the way out. He found Gabe and signed, 'This is a SECRET. If you tell Dean and/or Sam you will never see the light of day again.'

'Whatever, baby bro.' Gabe signed, laughing. Cas glared at him and huffed. Loudly. It startled some of the ladies with small children and with an apologetic glance Cas and Gabriel left the small clinic.

.o0o.

"Where'd you two go to?" Dean asked. Sam was on his phone, doing his best not to let his mask get in the way of his Tumblr-ing.

"We run the Western Mafia. Didn't you know that?" Gabe said.

"I'm not joking. Sam was worried. I was worried." Dean was getting upset. Cas didn't like it when Dean was upset. He sidled up to his boyfriend and kissed him dead on the lips, the first time they'd kissed like that.

"I'm sorry, Angel." Dean said tearfully, "But you know I would be worried. Please don't disappear on me like that again?" Dean asked. Cas smiled and nodded, knowing fully that in a month he'd have to disappear again, if only for an hour or so.

"You were worried too, Sammich?" Gabe said, sitting on Sam's stomach. Sam nodded and looked at Gabriel reproachfully.

"Y' 'eft 'n the m'ddle 'f our 'ate." Sam got through his mask, which was tight, rigid, and uncomfortable, but more than likely keeping him alive.

"I'm sorry, Samshine, won't happen again." Gabriel said, brushing some of Sam's hair from his face. Gabe place a kiss on Sam's forehead before scooping the man up. Sam was looking better, yes, but he was still skin and bones, hadn't been eating much at the hospital between sore throats and being unconscious, and light as a feather. Gabe carried Sam to their room and laid him on the bed, shutting the door behind Sam. 

"We are cuddling." Gabe said. Sam rolled his eyes and lifted the other end of the covers. Gabriel pulled himself under them and hugged Sam, letting out a soft hum as he did so. After a few minutes of sleepy warmth, Gabriel's eyes started to droop and his last lucid thought was, 'Sam's already asleep.'

.o0o.

'Hey Angel.' Dean signed, leading Cas into Dean's bedroom, which had a surprising amount of movie posters.

'Let's cuddle.' Dean signed, moving to make room for Cas in his bed. Cas got down on the other end and didn't miss the rumble of Dean's throat as he did so. In reality, Dean had rumbled, "Mine." and cuddled in closer to Cas.

Just before Dean let the comfort of sleep take over, Dean, to deaf ears, had muttered a secret he hadn't told anyone.

"I love you, Cas."


	3. Enter Sandman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowley is a big bag of dicks. That's it. I hate to be mean to my little baby nuggets, but for the sake of the story I have to.

There was a week left until the day Cas would get the external components to allow him to hear. He was having doubts.

'What if I don't like the way Dean sounds?' Cas signed anxiously to Gabe, when he had a spare moment. Dean was taking Sam to a clinic to get his breathing checked out, it was routine, he had assured Gabriel.

'Trust me, he sounds like heaven barfing on rainbows.' Gabe signed back. Cas cracked a smile and Gabriel signed, 'See? That's the spirit!'

Cas still had doubts.

.o0o.

Sam sat through the whole appointment wondering why Gabriel was interested in him. He was scrawny and had trouble breathing and a weird mask he had to wear to bed that he could barely talk through.

No, he hadn't voiced his thoughts, no, he never planned to. But he /was/ curious.

"That's your thinking face." Dean said on their drive back, "What're you thinking about?"

"Nothing." Sam replied, staring out the window.

"No, not nothing. That's your uncertain look. Now spill." Dean said.

"I'm wondering if penguins have knees." Sam said. It was kind of true. He'd had that thought before.

"No your not. That's a happy thought. Those are your dark and brooding shoulders." Dean said.

"Fine. I'm wondering why Gabriel would date someone like me." Sam huffed. Dean's eyes widened, but he narrowed them and drove them back. Sam knew better than to interrupt his thinking process, especially if it involved his eyes narrowing.

Luckily, Dean didn't tell Cas about it.

.o0o.

After dinner, Dean pulled Gabriel aside.

"Sam's having self-esteem issues, seems to think he's not good enough for you or some shit." Dean huffed.

"What?" Gabriel asked.

"I need you to cheer him up." Dean said, pulling his best imitation of Sam's puppy eyes.

"Fine. The Winchesters' puppy dog eyes are going to be the death of me." Gabriel said, walking calmly to Sam and kissing his cheek. Dean smiled at that and went back to his newest novel in his and Cas's now shared bedroom.

"Hey, Samshine." Gabe said, picking Sam up and carrying him to their bed, "Oof, you're getting kinda heavy. You're putting on some weight." Gabriel commented, slipping into the covers with Sam. Sam hooked the breathy-thingie up to his face and Gabe started to talk.

"Dean told me what you told him." Gabe said, eyes meeting Sam's. God. Sam's eyes. They were the most beautiful shade of hazel he'd ever seen. The kind of eyes he'd love to lose himself in. He hated to see them sad.

"You are more than worthy of me. If anything, I shouldn't be worthy of you. Look at you! You're intelligent and brave and your eyes are beautiful and you are so perfect I can't even compare to you. I love you, my moose." Gabriel said, kissing Sam's forehead, "And I can only hope that you'll return the favor."

Sam had to remove his breathy-thingy and said back, voice rasping, "I'm not, though. Worthy to be with you. I'm scrawny and useless and I'll probably never be able to run a mile again without having to use my inhaler, never mind if you ever wanted to-" Sam didn't continue. Not that he couldn't, he could breathe just fine. But he'd started to cry.

"Oh, Sammy. Is this what that's about?" Gabriel cooed, rubbing away Sam's tears with his thumb, "I could care less about whether you'd have sex with me or not. I could care less about the running or the muscles. Your soul is beautiful. That's why I fell in love with you." Sam gasped at the words. Gabriel had never said he'd loved Sam before.

"I love you too, Gabriel." Sam said, slipping his mask back on. Gabriel placed a firm kiss to the top of Sam's head and went to bed, thinking all was well.

.o0o.

They woke up the next day and decided to hang out at the bookstore again. The magical, magical bookstore was hosting a television marathon of Doctor Who.

"Charles!" Dean cried, hugging the redhead, "I love you! But you're gonna have to turn on subtitles for Cas."

"That's fine Dean, thanks for telling me, I'm on it, bitches!" Charlie said, grabbing the remote and using her endless knowledge of technology to turn subtitles on without making the screen go black-and-white /once/.

'C'mon, Cas, this'll be fun!' Dean signed, leading his boyfriend over to the bean-bag chairs. Sam and Gabe took the recliners and sat hand-in-hand. Apparently Gabe's talk with Sam the previous night had been successful.

"Hello Dearies, I'm here for books." Came an obnoxiously loud, British sounding voice. Everyone heard except for Cas, who was happily oblivious and enjoying the first few episodes of Classic Doctor Who, with the subtitles turned on of course.

"What kind of books would you like?" Charlie asked to the man in a cheerful voice, which was hard since he was so obviously an asshole.

"Informative ones." he sniffed, as though nonfiction was the only type of book out there.

"Well, normally people don't come to us for nonfiction, but I believe it's over there," Charlie pointed, "It's pretty small."

"Why is it so small?" the man asked.

"A lot of my customers prefer fiction over non, so I have a bigger collection of fictional works." Charlie shrugged.

"You said /your customers/." British Accent sniffed.

"Well, I own the store." Charlie smiled.

"But, you're a /girl/. Shouldn't you be making sandwiches for your husband?" oh great. British Accent was a /misogynistic/ asshole.

"A.) I'm a lesbian, and B.) If you are going to be rude to staff I can always invite you to leave." Charlie said sweetly.

"Well then, why don't you show me the real books, queer." British Accent sniffed. He seemed to sniff at everything, and Dean had had just about enough.

"Excuse. Me." Dean hissed, "Charlie is my friend."

"Oh? So the queer has friends?" British Accent sniffed.

"Yeah, she does. Friends who make explosions for a living." Dean smiled cheekily. Sure, he made engines, but he'd had a few explode in his face.

"Oh, can I meet him?" he said, also falsely sweet.

"You just have, Sherlock." Dean huffed.

"Y'know, I don't think I like your attitude." he said, narrowing his eyes.

"Would it help if I said I didn't like yours?" Dean asked, crossing his arms. Sam could see Dean was about thirty seconds away from punching something, or someone, and hurried to Dean's side, Cas following closely.

"Hi, Dean, you just missed the season two finale." Sam opened.

"Shush, I'm dealing with this asshole, he harassed Charlie." Dean said. Sam's eyes widened and he translated for Cas.

"Can he not hear?" British Accent asked.

"No, but he's my boyfriend, so I suggest you back off." Dean said.

"Aww, look at the little scraps try and deal with the big timers. Tell ya what kid, I'll make you a deal." British Accent said, "Give me a minute alone with lezbo over there and I won't hurt you or your family." he said threateningly.

"Was that a threat? Sammy, I think that man just threatened us." Dean laughed, "Well, hate to tell you, but our family's been dead for a long time." Sam shook Dean's arm and looked at him, a little hurt at the mention of their dead mother and father.

"Well, that's not very true." British Accent said, leaning in closer to Dean. He whispered something in Dean's ear that made Dean freeze up and his eyes widen.

"You- you wouldn't!" Dean gasped, turning a nasty pale color.

"Oh, believe me, I would." British Accent said, "And I know your secrets. Dating a superstar's brother? Not a very mature way to fame, but I'll give you some credit for sleeping your way up-"

British Accent didn't make another sound, Dean's hand was around his throat.

"You. Never. Insult. My. Relationships." Dean hissed, twisting his hand cruelly. "I love Cas, and if you even suggest differently again, I will strangle you, and this time you won't stay breathing." he dropped his hand and stepped away, leaving the other man gasping for air.

"You shouldn't have done that." British Accent said coolly, walking out of the store, "And I'd watch your backs from now on. Oh, and tell the funeral director Crowley says hello."

"Shit." Gabe said, frowning when Crowley had left.

"Should we go to the cops?" Charlie fretted.

"No, we're just going to sit here with our thumbs up our asses." Dean said sarcastically, "Actually, I don't think we'd have to go to the police, that guy seemed like he was tooting his own horn. However, Charles, I think you should move in with us, just for the time being." Charlie nodded.

"I don't think I'd've liked the minute he wanted." Charlie shivered.

"I don't either. But luckily, if they attack us, we can defend ourselves. I'll punch them and Gabe can stuff their nostrils so full with crème filling they'll choke to death." Dean laughed. Everyone but Cas followed that movement.

"Cassie, what's wrong?" Dean asked.

'Was Crowley right?' Cas signed, 'Are you only dating me because my brother's famous?'

'Of course not, don't be ridiculous.' Dean signed back, 'You are my boyfriend. I didn't even know your brother was famous until like two seconds ago.'

'Really?' Cas signed.

"Really." Dean said, leading them to the Impala.

"Everyone in. Sammy gets front." Dean said, opening the door for Cas. Charlie volunteered to sit in the middle and Cas sat behind Dean and Gabe behind Sam. The ride back to the bunker was tense and silent, well, to everyone but Cas. Everything was silent to Cas. The one upside to the situation was that he only had a week left until the outer parts of his hearing implants. Then he'd be able to hear everything.

He wasn't having any more doubts.


End file.
